This invention relates to infant carseats and strollers. More particularly, the invention relates to a stroller with a linkage system that allows the wheels of the stroller to retract, turning the stroller into a carseat and infant carrier device.
There are currently a number of different devices available to safely transport infants from one location to another. For example, infant carrier devices have become popular that cradle the infant and that provide a carrying handle. This carrying handle is used by the person transporting the carrying device to tote the infant about while the person is walking from one location to another. These devices are often usable as carseats for the infant. In this respect, the device is provided with structure allowing the seat belt of the vehicle to safely maintain the device in place. A separate buckle and strap assembly is provided on the device itself to maintain the infant within the device. Further, the carrying handle of these devices is provided with a mechanism which allows the handle to be moved between a first position that is out of the way when the device is used as a carseat and a second position that allows the device to be carried.
The carrying handles previously used on such devices still suffer from certain disadvantages caused by the construction and design of the handle. For example, the typical handle is merely in the shape of an inverted U. This shape requires the person carrying the device to hold the handle with the palm of his or her hand oriented perpendicularly to the direction the person is walking. Moreover, the most convenient place to hold such a handle is generally in the center of the handle. Both of these requirements make the device somewhat cumbersome to hold and carry. Further, an increased amount of strength must be used when the handle is grasped generally in the center, because the load of the weight is placed further from the person's body.
In an attempt to address some of these concerns, a carrying handle is now available that is constructed with an S-shaped top portion. This construction allows the person carrying the device to hold the handle with the palm of his or her hand oriented parallel to the direction the person is walking. Such a construction is generally easier to carry, due to the orientation of the grasping portion. However, an increased amount of strength is still needed to carry the device, because the load of the weight is placed further from the person's body due to the grasping portion being located in the center of the handle.
There are also now in existence strollers that allow an infant carrying device, as described above, to be held within a separate stroller device. This allows the carrying device to be removed from the vehicle and placed in the stroller device without removing the infant from the carrying device. This stroller/carrying device combination is disadvantageous in that it requires two separate devices; namely the carrying device/carseat and the stroller. Therefore, the stroller must be transported along with the carrying device, and separately therefrom. This can be inconvenient in that it requires extra space and requires the transportation of an additional and separate stroller.
Finally, a combination carseat/carrying device and stroller combination exists which allows the carrying device to be converted into a stroller. This construction also suffers from a number of drawbacks. First, due to the particular construction, the conversion from a carrying device to a stroller is a cumbersome process. In this construction, the wheels for the stroller must be deployed. Then, in a separate process, the handle assembly for the stroller is deployed. This two step process is awkward and time consuming. Moreover, the wheelbase of the stroller just described is not as stable as is often desired. This causes the stroller to tip when items are placed on the handle thereof, such as a diaper bag.
Of course, the other alternative transportation methods to those described above are a separate stroller, a separate carrier device and a separate carseat. This involves three different pieces of equipment that must be purchased, stored and toted about.
Therefore, an apparatus is needed that overcomes the above drawbacks and disadvantages existing in the prior art. More specifically, an apparatus is needed that combines a stroller, a carseat and an infant carrier. The apparatus must be easily convertible between the stroller and the carseat/carrier. Further, the apparatus, when in the stroller mode, needs to have a stable wheelbase. Still further, the apparatus must have a lightweight construction that allows it to be easily carried from one location to another. Further yet, the apparatus needs to have a carrying handle that makes it easier and more comfortable to carry the device.